coast guard is hailing as a hero this morning. They say the 12-year-old played a key role in helping them rescue people trapped on board a boat grounded in a river. We have the story. Reporter: These photos show the dramatic moments a boat with 15 people was rescued in the dead of the night. 13 of the passengers deaf. Are you warmer now? Yeah. Reporter: 12-year-old Amanda was boating with her family and friends when she says it got dark and they got lost, eventually running out of gas. Amanda, who was used to speaking for her deaf parents, called police. I didn't think they would find us because we didn't know where we were. A lot of people were panicking and they were yelling because they were cold. Reporter: To make matters worse, many of the passengers suffered from medical conditions and didn't have their medications. Everybody was panicking, running up the boat, tipping it even more. Reporter: The pontoon had only two life jackets on board. With Amanda's help over the phone, crews were able to find the stranded boat, but so tangled in tree roots even a tow boat couldn't get close. The coast guard stepped in, ask three hours after Amanda's call, used an inflatable ice skiff to rescue the passengers three at a time. Incredibly, nobody was hurt. This coast guard crew did the rescuing, but they say the real hero was 12-year-old Amanda Galindo, who's phone call saved her family and friends. I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but she's the epitome of a hero in my eyes. Reporter: ABC news, New York. Many echo those sentiments. Time for another check of the

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